The Heart of Amaterasu
by InfiniteSagittarius
Summary: Sora and co. land on Nippon during the first reign of Orochi. Tricked by a demon, he vows to bring down Amaterasu and Waka from their supposed tyranny over Kamiki Village but what will happen when he confronts them? Might be Human!AmaWaka. T for gore.
1. Beginnings

Title: Heart of Amaterasu

Author Notes: Note much to say. Just read and review!

It was a relatively quiet night. At least, in Sora's case it was. He was lounging indolently in the gummiship watching the planets streak by without a single hint of a heartless attack. The gummiship swerved among the stars as Sora steered with practiced expertship (Happens after a crash or two. Or a dozen.).

Donald and Goofy, too, were enjoying the rare peace that pervaded the small ship and were slumbering peacefully in their seats. Sora, though tired to the bone, could not sleep and took to manning the ship despite his friends' protest. It had been two hours since that argument and he now wished he would've given in to their demands. He let his hand shift as he fell into a doze. The wheel wavered, steering the small gummiship into an unseen tunnel along the path.

The change in scenery snapped Sora awake; the ship was zooming down a small, dark tunnel that had obviously not seen a ship for centuries on end. He yawned and turned the ship around to backtrack to the main speedway. Just then, the short-lived silence was shattered by the sound of a heartless laser that collided with the gummiship wing.

The blast hurtled the small ship down the tunnel, spinning till it halted. Sora felt instinct kick start his sleep-deprived body and he immediately gunned the engine and sped down the dark tunnel. The blast had awakened his two companions, and they instinctively manned the lasers. The heartless pursuers were of high-rank and fast, easily dodging the gummiship's attacks. 'Lasers that will hit anything that moves, my foot, gramps.' Sora thought.

"No use trying to hit them." Donald stated and sqwaked agitatedly as Sora showed off some risky flying maneuvers. "Sora!" The duck scolded, clenching his seat before he could be flung off. Goofy, not as reflexive as Donald, clumsily fell to the floor with an 'Oof.' Sora smirked confidently, seeing the heartless disappear in the dark tunnel.

"It got rid of them, didn't it?" He laughed, "Besides, Cid, designed this ship to take acrobatics." Then, in fate's sense of dark hunour, the wing exploded and sended the ship in to a twirl, the shower of sparks illuminating the tunnel. Sora gripped the wheel, trying to straighten the ship as the engine screamed and sputtered smoke. He mentally cursed Cid as he registered that saving the ship was futile.

Then the ship lurched, and he collided head first into the control panel. The impact tore through Sora's senses leaving him dazed and on the brink of conciousness. He looked up, the movement itself made his head feel like it was being cleaved, and stared at the tunnel. He saw the faint shimmer of a planet before the darkness of unconsciousness took hold.

The soft twitters of sparrows roused Sora from the black that consumed his mind. For a split second he thought he was back at Destiny Islands, napping on the warm beach before the realization of what happened pierced his hopes like a dagger. He opened his eyes and closed half a minute later.

The sky was so bright that it caused lights to pop in his head. He sat up, opening his eyes slowly and took in the world before him. He was in a lush field that extended to a bridge guarded by statue phoenixes that were engulfed in ruby red flame. Large trees that extended to the clouds dotted the field; it gave the plains a feeling of antique pristine that had never been touched by human hands. He cautiously got up, and felt his head throb in protest. He shook it off, and scanned the field for Donald and Goofy. He didn't have to look far.

"Sora!" His friends cried in unison, running to him. Sora eeped as they piled on him and checked the scab on his head.

"What happened?" He asked as Donald cured his wound. He muttered something about 'reckless' and 'show off' and Sora smiled sheepishly.

"Well, Sora, you blacked out. We couldn't see anything cause the lights were knocked out. It was lucky we landed on this planet nearby." Goofy said curiously examining place, "Gawrsh, sure is a lonely place. No heartless, even."

"Where's the ship?" Sora questioned, and prepared himself for the worst. Goofy pointed upward and Sora gasped. The ship was held by the many branches in a sturdy tree beside them; the wings were completely destroyed and it seemed like sheer luck was the only thing that kept the hull together.

Suddenly, the branches gave and the group scrambled out of the path of the falling wreckage of metal. The hull crashed to the ground in a cloud of dust and a creak of metal. The once proud, Cid-certified, ship of the elite King Mickey, was reduced to nothing more than scrap metal.

"Why is it that we're more in danger of your flying than when we're battling heartless?" Donald sighed.

"Hey! He told me that these parts would work better than others twice their price."

"You believed him? And you messed with the gummiship?" Donald said, agitation ruffling his feathers. Sora winced, he couldn't help himself to tinker a bit with the ship.

"Well I saved some munny didn't I?" At this remark, Donald erupted into a frenzy of squawks. Goofy moved from the scene quickly, knowing how heated Donald's and Sora's arguments got. He rummaged through the wreckage and looked for something of use. After digging for a bit, he uncovered the radio which managed through the crash with a couple of scratches.

"Hey look, fellas! I found something!" Goofy yelled as he turned on the radio. Sora and Donald, argument forgotten, stood beside Goofy as the radio crackeled into life. A crude voice wafted from the speakers.

"Whaddya want kid?" The voice, obviously Cid, said.

"Sora crashed the ship again." Goofy said and Sora was about to protest had not the speaker literally erupt with obcsentities. Goofy waited till Cid quieted to speak. "We need someone to pick us up as soon as possible.

"As soon as possible, eh? Well with the defense at Hallow Bastion malfunctionin' and an increase in heartless, I'd say the earliest would be in two weeks." With that said, Cid cut the connection. Sora backed away from the soon to implode Donald.

"Well," Sora said, his voice ringing with his usual optimism. "we're here for a reason. We might as well see if we're needed." He looked at the dirt path ahead of him and, with a grumbling Donald in tow, they began to walk.

It had nearly been an hour since their fateful crash and the only life the trio had spotted were the occasional boar or rabbit. Just as the bridge came into view, however, the peace was shattered by a scream. The trio turned, drawing their weapons and looked quizically at the scene before them. A man with a large bag of mail was being chased by a scroll that was alit with green flames.

"Demon! Run for it!" The man yelled, whizzing past the stunned trio. Sora was so absorbed in the absurd man's ranting that he barely noticed the scroll overtaking them.

He felt an icy chill run down his back and a dark barrier, much like the essence of heartless, surround them. Suddenly, he felt as if were made out of stone and even twitching took much effort. Sora didn't know it but he was trapped in a heavy curse. The curse emanted from a shadowy being that faintly resembled one of the primate heartless Sora fought deep within Tarzan's jungle; these beings, instead, were more grotesque and hid their faces behind blood painted masks. Sora mentally called for his keyblade which faithfully appeared in it's master's hands.

The six imps circled their prey and drew their weapons too; the weapons seemingly harmless instruments. The keyblade master glanced at bloodspatters on one of the imps' flutes. 'Doesn't look like they want to play us a tune,' Sora thought grimly. The imps stopped their feverish chattering and waited for the trio's move and they waited for the imps'. For what could've been hours or seconds, Sora could not tell, but he caught what he was looking for: an impatient imp moved slightly, leaving itself open for attack.

Sora leapt into the fray of imps with a battle cry. Even the demon's curse could not impair Sora's inhuman speed and perception in battle as he whirled his keyblade into the unfortunate imp. The imp did not even feel it's smiting as it was torn into dust, leaving flowers as it disappeared from the mortal world. It's comrades hardly paid recognition to it's fallen comrade and, with a horrible screech, they tried to pounce on Sora's allies. The were blown back by the fury of Donald's magic and Goofy's cold, metal shield. The imps, only concentrating on their weakened prey, shook off the pain and continued closing in on the trio. The curse brought Sora to his kness as it became stronger as the imps circled them. The imps were stopped by the sound of something ripping in the air.

The barrier was pulled apart by a man who was even more frightening than the imps; he was a giant cloaked in the finest black samurai armor and had several deadly blades hung on his hips. The only visible part of his body were his fiery red eyes that scanned the battlefield. He casually unsheathed a sword, it was endowed with exorcism beads, and held it up to the imps. They screeched and flung themselves toward him, only to be cut down in midair. With the curse lifting slightly, Sora moved towards the giant as more imps appeared to replace the fallen ones. The man handed the trio a traveler's charm and the effects were immediate as Sora flew off the ground.

Sora did not even have to use magic to finish off the rest of the demons. He was a blur as he easily dodged the imps futile attacks and counterattacked with deadly accuracy. With Goofy's strength and an astonishing Blizzara from Donald, the imps were decimated. The barrier fell without the support the demons and Sora was once again in the quiet field as if the battle that took place never happened. He looked at the samurai who nodded at Sora, impressed of his swordplay.

"Incredible. For such a young lad, you fight like an experienced man." The man said, sheathing his sword. "I didn't even need to lift a finger." Sora smiled confidently and thanked the man.

"If it weren't for you, we might've been in a lot of trouble. Who are you anyway?"

"Blight, guard for the emperor and Sei-an City. May I ask for your name, young warrior."

"Sora, Donald and Goofy." Pointing to himself and his friends in turn. "Travelers." The samurai looked quizzically at Sora's humming keyblade as if it were asking too for thanks of it's deed.

"I would've helped you earlier but you have to be very careful with people these days. I thought you were a familiar of Shiranui's with that divine instrument of yours." Blight pointed to the keyblade. Sora unconsciously willed his blade away, and with a final shimmer, it disappeared back into the recesses of Sora's soul.

"Shiranui? I bet this isn't a friend of yours." The man laughed darkly at Sora's remark.

"That beast is not friend to any creature that has a heart." Blight led them to a shady tree and once seated began to talk of Shiranui. She was a wolf who surveyed maidens for an even more terrible beast known as Orochi. Then, as if the story could not have angered Sora enough, Blight told of an accomplice of Shiranui that lived within the walls of Sei-An City. The accomplise was a handsome man, named Waka, that disguised himself as a Tao Master that protected the Queen but was really planning to give her to Shiranui as a gift for Orochi. Sora's fists were shaking with the pangs of injustice and betrayal that laid deep within his heart. His need for justice had already made up his mind before Blight had even finished the dark tale.

"That's horrible!" Donald cried as Blight ended his story.

"Do not worry, my friend. I gave that fake prophet something to remember, alright, before he was banished." Sora looked at his friends and both nooded, their decision unanimous.

"Blight, I believe we are destined to stop Shiranui, Waka, maybe even Orochi. Don't look at us like that, we've been through worse." Sora said with finality. Blight was about to reject their offer but seeing Sora and his friends determined faces made him realize that nothing in all of Nippon could deter them.

"Then, brave one, let me at least help you on your perilous journey." Blight dug through a small traveler's pouch to uncover a worn map and marked where Kamiki Village was. "The map's a bit dated," he handed it to Sora, "but I'm sure you'll find it. As for how to challenge Shiranui, that is up to you." The boy thanked the samurai, and with a final goodbye, walked in the direction of Kamiki Village. Once Sora was out of sight, Blight passed the city to the hidden Oni Island to greet an old friend with some promising news.

The towers of Oni Island were menacingly large with pillars of lava shooting from the trench below and an ever present storm illuminated the dark fortress with cracks of lightning. The fortress froze even the bravest of hearts as screams of toture and misery rang from the onimous windows.

"Always the theatrics." Blight mumbled to himself as he signaled for the ogres to step aside the gateway. He walked into the forboding fortress examining Ninetales complicated gears clicking in the ceiling above. From far off he could hear the sounds of torture as he stepped into the main hallway. Blight had to admit that Ninetails' decor was top-notch. "You, imp," He pointed to the small, feeble imp that ran a merchant stand, "Go fetch Ninetails. I have something to discuss with her." The imp trembled at the samurai's dark, demonic voice.

"L-lady Ninetails does not like to be disturbed during brunch." It said weakly.

"Exactly. That's why you're going to do it." Blight commanded, "Or would you rather meet the ogres outside? They haven't eaten for a while." The imp trembled violently, choosing between being pulled apart by ogres or facing Ninetails' wrath.

"I-I'll go f-f-fetch, milady." The imp said, sobbing pitifully as it took the stairs to Ninetails' room. Blight surveyed the main hall; it was dimly lit by candles and a large window that stood behind an impressive statue of a man holding a nine-pronged floor. The floor held evidence that Ninetails was not exactly merciful with her servants; it reeked of imp blood. He looked up to see a woman approach him.

"What is it Blight?" She said in a slightly annoyed tone. The woman was beautiful; she had a soft, curvy body, her skin was pale and glowing wrapped in the finest red kimono yen could buy, and her hair was shimmering black that fell in front of her sky blue eyes. 'How ugly', Blight thought mentally grimacing. He had always thought her affinity to human vanity disgraceful.

"You look lovely, Ninetails, as always." Blight complimented, doing an intricate bow. Ninetails sneered.

"Save your chilverly, Blight. The day you don't plot my downfall is the day imps become scholars." She said with her usual venom and pursed her plump, red lips together. Blight noticed that a larger than normal imp trailed behind her. She turned to the imp and pointed to the empty merchant stand. "As I promised for bringing me the maiden's body." The large imp bowed deeply and took his place behind the wares.

"The other imp?" Blight dared to asked. Ninetails grinned, showing off her pointed canines.

"I missed my brunch and I was deathly hungry." She smirked, challenging Blight to comment. When he didn't, Ninetails continued, "Have you brought that wretched Moon warrior to me? Yami is impatient."

"No, he got away." Ninetails laughed, a horrible sound that was comparable to fingernails going down a chalkboard. Her eyes betrayed her demon being, cold and blood-thirsty.

"You have the emperor under your thumb and those humans worshiping your every breath but you cannot get a single Tao Master in the city that you rule? You disgraceful excuse for a demon!" Ninetails' voice rose an octave higher than was humanly possible. The merchant imp hid himself behind his umbrella. Even the air seemed to still, frozen by Ninetails' fury. Blight, on the other hand, remained relaxed.

"Temper, dear. No, I have a plan that will rid us both of that goddess and Moon warrior and even that worthless serpent Orochi." Blight said smiling as he saw Ninetails' eyes flash with anticipation. "Do you still have that crystal ball of yours?"

"Of course." She sniffed and pulled a pearl-sized crystal ball from her necklace. The vixen whispered and the ball grew to the size of a beachball in it's master's hands. Ninetails set the ball down gently while Blight laid a hand on the glassy smooth surface. Instantly, Sora appeared in the ball fighting the imps with expert swordsmanship. Ninetails, too, laid her hand on the glass ball and giggled like a school girl. "Sora...what a rare creature you are! Fights like a demon, yet, is as kind and naive as a wood sprite."

"At the very least, the boy will put up a fight. It's likely he'll die trying."

"All the better. The world could use one less righteous human." The woman purred as it gazed at Sora more. "But, I do so love his choice in clothes. He might make a fine vessel for me."

"I'll make sure to personally rip out the soul for you, my dear."

Dusk had settled on the quaint Kamiki Village but for anyone passing by it would seem the village was long deserted. No grandparent settled on their porches to tell stories to the children, no warrior or man lined to Kushi's bar for a drink, not even the sparrows dared to feed. Everyone was barricaded in their houses, fearing the searching eyes of the white wolf. Amaterasu didn't need to hide but she cautiously crouched in the long grass anyway. When it was clear that the village was truly deserted, she leapt from her hiding place and trotted to the merchant's stand. There was a crudely made sign leaning next to the wares and it read:

'Take what you need and leave yen. Won't be back 'till after Orochi's ritual.'

Amaterasu had not realized how close the ritual was until she had read that sign. It would be only a couple of days until the ninety-ninth sacrifice, Nami. She risked a glance to Nagi's house. Would he fulfill his duties as chosen one as Waka predicted? The wolf shook her head. Now was not the time to dwell on futures with Waka injured as he was. Amaterasu nosed through the wares before picking up a special healing bottle and left extra yen for the merchant before trotting to the waterfall.

The waterfall nearly deafened the goddess as she approached it. She sprung from the ground and agily traversed the jagged rocks to a hidden cave behind the waterfall. She padded into the cave and walked up to a man who was resting upon the stony floor; the man had long, golden hair, sapphire blue eyes and an odd choice in pink and purple clothing. He was clutching an arm which was drenched in blood. Amaterasu whined to get his attention, which was a feat with a bottle in her mouth. He didn't respond.

"Ammy, what took ya so long?" A minscule, bouncing orange glow chided as it bounced from Waka's shoulder. "The prophet's ready to collapse. He's been pretty feverish." Ishaku bounced on Amaterasu head. "Had to go and get himself sliced up by a half-wit demon..." The poncle grumbled but his worry was noticeable to Amaterasu's sensitive ears. Amaterasu uncorked the bottle while Ishaku managed to get a feeble fire going with twigs he collected. She carefully poured the sparkling potion on to his wound and jumped when Waka twitched violently.

"That's a wound infwicted by a dwemon, wight?" A little voice piqued up. The two turned to see a little girl with long black hair in a kimono too big for her waddle to Amaterasu.

"How'd you get up here? Kids, if I ever had one, I swear, I'd-Ammy don't do that!" Ishaku said as his lupine companion let the little wood sprite walk to her and pet her fur.

"Pwetty markings!" The child cooed as she ran her hands over the goddess's divine markings. She then looked at Ishaku. "Imma wood sprite. I can go everywhere I want two. My name is Shakuya."

"Shakuya, huh? So what were you talking about demon wounds?"

"Oh, wight. Well, my mama said you shwould ashk Amatar-Ame-uh...the Sun Goddess to blwess the water. It can heal anything!" The sprite giggled and, with a final snuggle from Amaterasu, disappeared in a flourish of cherry blossoms. After hearing this, Amaterasu looked startled. Ishaku read her expression easily.

"Don't tell me...you had this power all along and forgot? Stop spacing out, furball. Well thank the heavens for nosy kids, we can get this half-baked prophet better and then I'll be the one who kills him." The poncle jumped onto the ground ready to rant but was stopped when Amaterasu gave him the bottle. She looked at the waterfall. "Get the water? Why? Oh, thumbs, right..." Ishaku rolled the bottle to a the edge and filled it with the sparkling water. He handed the bottle back to Amaterasu. She took the bottle and let it slowly trickle onto Waka's wound then took out her celestial brush and wrote intricate markings along his wound. The glow was so bright from the holy powers that Ishaku had to squint. Once the glow faded, any hints of the wound vanished and Waka's feverish trance twitching subsided as he fell into deep sleep. Amaterasu, relieved and feeling weary after her intense worry of her friend, curled beside the prophet. She silently huffed with laughter as she saw Ishaku fall asleep in Waka's bizarre winged hat. Just as her eyes began to droop, she smelled a scent that propelled her to her feet, all thoughts of sleep vanishing. The scent was new but most of all held a powerful resentment against her. A scent that willed to challenge her.


	2. The Duel

Author's notes: I got a lot of questions about the time period. It takes places 100 years before the game. Sorry for the confusion! It is also Amaterasu; humans just gave her the title of Shiranui. Also, this chapter's a bit short. I promise to make the next one much longer.

Sora made it to the plains of Shinshu Field by the time the sun was lowering behind the mountains in the distance. He looked down at the field that were in sharp contrast to the coast of North Ryoshima's plains; they were barren with a noxious dark mist hovering over the dead field. The field was crawling with demons that were quarreling among themselves over remains of animals long since dead. He made sure to keep well out of the reach of the mist and demons as he procedded down the trail. The closer he got, the more he wished for the company of heartless instead of the beasts that lurked in the mist.

"Look." Donald said and Sora snapped out of his musings. They approached a sign that plainly read, 'Kamiki Village' but the village was not anything of the bright village Blight had described. The place was as lively as a crypt and as quiet as one too. The three walked cautiously into the village and was greeted by a slight breeze that held the perfume of cherry blossoms that had wilted years ago. Sora unconsciously drew his keyblade, feeling the tension of a coming battle well inside him.

"Shiranui, we've come to challenge you!" Sora shouted to the heavens and his only response was his faint echo. "Hello? Anybody?"

"Is this the right village?" Goofy whispered a bit unnerved by the curtain of silence surrounding them.

"You three!" A voice exclaimed and the trio turned to look at a heavily bearded man in hand-made armor approach them in a slightly tipsy manner. His beady eyes regarded them as if he were a soldier; he was slightly hefty and his nose was red from drinking which didn't hold his stature of warrior very well. He held a blue sword with a moon-shaped handle close to his side.

"Who are you?" Sora asked, slightly relieved at the intrusion even if it was a bit drunk. The man's eyes lit up as if he had been waiting for Sora to ask him this.

"I am the greatest warrior ever, Nagi, bearer of Tskuyomi!" Nagi proudly declared, waving Tskuyomi in an intricate series of moves but lost his footing and slipped. He quickly recovered while Sora sweat dropped. "I'm also devoted, too, the destruction of the wicked beast Shiranui! Now, stand back and watch how a real swordsman slays his demons. I have trained heavly, thank's to Nami's potent sake and tonight, a week before the ritual, Shiranui shall taste my blade." Nagi threw his head back and laughed. "And who might you be, travelers?"

"Sora, Donald, and Goofy." They answered simultaneously to the delight of Nagi. He welcomed them warmly, recognizing the warrior spirit emanting from the group. A young girl, roused from the sudden conversation, peeked out the door. She waved to the travelers and signaled to the other villager windows that there was no harm. The village slowly sprang to life as people observed the travelers but Sora couldn't help noticing the slight melancholy on their faces.

"I pray for your victory tonight, Nagi. It has already been a year?" The fair maiden softly spoke from the rice fields that she had started tending. "My, how times go by when your brewing sake." Nagi blushed but hurriedly composed his somewhat serious manner.

"I would not have had the courage without your sake, Nami." Nagi said, blushing even deeper. Sora and his friends suppressed a laugh knowing how many times they have seen those lovebird looks in their travels.

"A year since what?" Sora piqued up.

"Nagi has challenged Shiranui for 365 days in a row." Nami replied, absently picking at the rice.

"Wow, you lost 365 times in a row?"

"I may have failed the last time, but on my honor, I will not lose." Nagi sweat dropped. The conversation was cut short by a growl. Nami abadoned her rice bowl and fled to her house, as did others in the blink of an eye and watched the four warriors from their windows. A brillant white wolf emerged from the mist of the waterfall and Sora, despite himself, marveled at her soft red markings that branded her body and the reflector that was a lit with multicolor flames. Blue, crystal-endowed beads hung from her shaggy neck and it emphasized the flickering flames in her shining eyes. The wolf sat and wagged it's ink-dipped tail while it gave a yawn. It didn't see Nagi as much of a threat.

With a yell, Nagi charged at the beast raising Tskuyomi into the air that glinted in the half-light. Amaterasu sat up and gave a menacing bark, not in the mood for their daily duels. The bark stopped Nagi dead in his tracks and his knees buckled but he kept his sword raised.

"D-don't u-u-underestimate, b-beast." His voice shook but Sora admired his bravery for still standing against Amaterasu's menacing growl. Amaterasu sat back on her haunches as if pleased and then turned her attention to Sora.

"I am the one that challeged you, Shiranui. I am Sora, keyblade master." He raised his keyblade. Donald and Goofy drew their weapons and positioned themselves in a battle stance.

"Sora?" Ishaku whispered in Amaterau's ear. "I think the prophet had a vision about him. He mumbled about him when he was under that fever. I have a bad feeling about that kid and that blade of his. Keep clear of it, okay, furball." Amaterasu silently agreed. He didn't need to tell her twice to stay away from that thing; it just radiated an odd presence that made her fur crawl.

"Nagi, don't ask me why, but I believe we were destined to duel Shiranui." Sora stated and Nagi nodded, walking back to the edge of the clearing to watch the battle.

Amaterasu growled when she recognized the stench of Blight wafting from his pockets. It brought her back to memories of finding of Waka at the mouth of the cave when she had returned from her hopeless attempts to rejuvenate Shinshu Field. Amaterasu recalled the fear she felt when she smelled the vast amount of blood or how still his body was in the dim moonlight. Had Ishaku not taken his pulse and threatened several times to tie her on a leash, she would've stormed Sei-An city and ripped Blight apart even if it was suicidal at best. She vowed to bring down Blight and all that dared to associate with him. The tense showoff was interrupted by the sound of a flute melody.

"Showoff." Ishaku said under his breath as the prophet floated down to the ground with his enchanted, winged hat. Amaterasu cocked her head, angry growl gone, and replaced by her usual goofy expression between amusement and surprise. She could see that he was still slightly pale and a bit out of breath from his long jump down.

"Bonjour! Waka, god's gift to man, has arrived." He tossed back his hat which sparkled as it flapped. He starred at Sora and his companions with a bemused glint in his eyes. "It really isn't fair for three to go against one, is it?" He said lightly with a hint of his french accent.

"One?" Ishaku exclaimed, bouncing on Amaterasu's head, "I'm here too, you know!"

"I don't think you count my little bouncing friend." Waka laughed, enjoying himself as Ishaku's orange glow changed to crimson as he ranted. Sora, dumbfounded by the odd scene playing out in front of him, snapped back to his goal.

"Well, I don't think it's fair for Shiranui to give helpless maidens to Orochi." Sora said and Ishaku fell silently, preparing himself for the impending battle.

"Is that a challenge?" Waka replied, his eyes going from bright blue to a shade of navy blue.

"You bet it is." No one moved for several minutes as they stared each other down. Waka took his flute and drew his green, celestial blade from it and then drew his metal sword in one swift motion. Amaterasu crouched, eying the surroundings for any helpless bystanders that could get hurt in the battle. Sora lifted Oathkeeper in an attack position and motioned for Nagi and Nami to go back inside. They did not need to be told twice. Even the wind stopped, eager to watch the epic battle. Sora crouched and leapt.

Battle erupted into a frenzy of clashing blades and battle cries. Amaterasu focused her energy on Sora, blocking his blows with her divine reflector and striking back with her celestial brush strokes. Waka defended Amaterasu from Goofy's twirling shield and the small village was lit up by the sparks that exploded from the impact. Ishaku, using the brush techniques he stole from Amaterasu, to counter Donald's Fira. Waka, with an impressive swordplay technique, knocked Goofy back into the pond but was hit at the side by Donald's magic. He flew back from the blast, semiconcious, and onto the the unforgiving earth with a thud. Amaterasu, not called hard-headed Ammy for nothing, rammed her head into the duck sending him into the pond on top of Goofy. Now the battle was narrowed down to the keyblade master and the goddess.

Sora charged again to land a horizontal slash on the wolf but was blown back by an invisible force. As he regained his footing, he realized that fighting Amaterasu close would not work. Whenever her fiery eyes met his, he was fended off or blocked by trees that magically sprouted out of nowhere. He could not use his drive powers without his friends and the battle left him no strength to summon. Sora and Amaterasu knew this battle would be decided by one last blow.

Ishaku sheathed his blade, knowing fully well that his beastly friend was tied to the contract of battle passed down by the ancient gods. She would have to land the final blow herself or risk damnation. She and the boy circled each other, eyes connected.

Sora already decided his final move. It was a risky maneuver but he had been in worse before. He commanded Oathkeeper to strike Amaterasu's heart, finishing her once and for all.

Their circling stopped and Sora chose this moment to act. He averted his eyes from Amaterasu's, and unknowingly, prevented her from striking immediately with her celestial brush. The unwritten rules of the gods dictated that Amaterasu must look into the eyes of her enemy before bringing down the wrath of her celestial techniques upon them. Sora, praying fervently, threw Oathkeeper in the direction of the white wolf.

Amaterasu used her reflector to send the keyblade whizzing up into the air and twinkling out of sight. The battle was over as Sora stood defenseless before Amaterasu. She was about to do her victory howl to chase off her challenger when she saw a flash of imp in the long grass behind Sora. The glint of the twilight caught on the demonic knife it held. Her protection of all creatures on this land, friend or foe, impulsed her and she caught Sora on the sleeve, dragging him away from the preying demon. Then Oathkeeper flashed back from the sky straight towards the unaware Amaterasu.

Everything happened so fast that Waka could not discern if what had just took place was a figment of his stupor. The keyblade, keeping it's oath to it's master, flew from the sky and down through Amaterasu like a flash of lightning splitting the sky. It was followed by a burst of blood from the goddess where the blade had pierced her and she howled in pain. The imp chose this moment to strike, oblivious that Sora's blade had flashed into it's wielder's hand, completely clean and humming with the success of it's deed. Waka pulled a blade from his sash, completely numbed from the events, and threw the blade into the imp. It staggered back and disintegrated into nothing more than black ash that disappeared on the breath of an easterly wind. All that was left was a ruby red knife that bore a hellish curse.

Blight had made two mistakes with his plan: he sent an imp to do a job he should have done himself and he had underestimated Sora's keyblade. His keyblade had the power to unlock hearts for his bearer at it's own discretion; when it pierced Amaterasu it unlocked her heart to Sora. All Sora mentally glimpsed though was a lady that was so bright that Sora could only see her fiery bright eyes before her heart was locked again by the keyblade. Ishaku had barely leapt off his lupine friend to search for a pulse that wasn't there when Amaterasu's mortal body glowed a bright red. Her soul flew out the wolf she embodied and soared to the northern sky that glinted in the twilight.

Sora looked back to where the wolf laid. All that was left were cherry blossoms.


	3. To the North

Sora then looked to the odd warrior who was brushing himself off and bristled with anger as he saw him. He didn't look the least bit worried or sad for his friend; in fact, he seemed to be deep in thought.

"Shiranui is...gone, and she tried to save me." He whispered to himself as he gazed at Oathkeeper. Donald and Goofy crawled out of the pond, soaked and sputtering, but had also witnessed Amaterasu's final deed. Ishaku bounced to Waka and took his place on his winged hat, silent for once in his life.

"She is not gone." Waka answered blandly as he felt his vigor return to him. "Amaterasu's mortal body is gone, no doubt about that, but, thanks to that divine weapon of yours, she might be complete again."

"Amaterasu?"

"It is her real name, only given to those who are strong enough to carry the burden that comes with it." The tao master answered looking to the sky where the north star shone brightly. Ishaku bounced off of Waka's hat and examined Sora's blade.

"Oh, I see!" Ishaku smacked his forehead which went unnoticed by his much larger friends. "I can't believe I didn't notice. It's obvious."

"What?" Sora asked the small bouncing light.

"This blade unlocks things right?"

"Yeah. It is a keyblade so it's kind of required to unlock things."

"Then this sword must've dispelled that slimy serpent's curse." Ishaku said with a nod. Sora was utterly lost; had he not seen Amaterasu slain before his eyes? Waka noticed the trio's looks of confusion and decided to explain it to them.

"The slimy serpent my minuscule friend here is talking about is the dreaded Orochi. He cursed Amaterasu in the most horrible way. He locked her beauty away into the deepest confines of her heart. He had turned her from a maiden to a vicious beast, doomed to walk this land, and to be feared by every mortal who dared gaze upon her." Waka said in a sad way, as if Amaterasu's curse was his fault. Sora shook off the feeling as he felt more questions bubble up inside him.

"Then, why don't you fear her?"

"Same as you, young warrior. We're not mortal or at least not completely." He said with a smirk. You and your friends have special gifts to see people for what they truly are."

"You're not mortal, then?"

"You sure ask a lot of questions don't you kid?," Ishaku laughed. "No, the prophet here isn't human. Don't ask him either. He gets pretty moody about that stuff."

"What are you then? A fairy?"

"Fairy?" Ishaku huffed. "I'm a Poncle. And not just you're run of the mill poncle, I'm the fifth celestial envoy. I write about Amaterasu's travels, battle a couple of demons, and hope to get a babe or two on the way." Waka silently laughed to himself; it would be surprising, 100 years from now, how similar he would be to his grandchild or rather more irritating in his case.

"Excuse moi, but we must get going. We'll have to travel now if we want to get to Amaterasu before the ritual." Waka interrupted.

"You mean all of us?" The keyblade master looked to his friends to see if they disagreed. They didn't oppose his decision.

"Of course." Ishaku answered. "You stab it, you help it," Sora smiled sheepishly at this, "Besides, five or six, counting furball when we get her, will stand a bigger chance against the Dark Lord and it's minions."

"Wait, you didn't say anything about a Dark Lord!" Sora yelled, running after them.

Sora brought up the rear of the rag tag group and was still fuming about how they always seemed to find themselves in the plot of some dark master's twisted schemes. Night had already fallen as they finally set out, looking over the expansive Shinshu field. If it was even possible, it was worse at night with demons multiplying like rabbits in the inky blackness. He looked ahead to see Waka discussing something with Ishaku and, even for such a tiny being, he could hear him all the way in the back of the group.

"To the Ark of Yamato? We'd be lucky to get there in a month if we even had money for the ferry!" The orange glow once again ranted in the annoyed prophet's ear.

"Calm down, petite one. I have a plan that'll get us to the ark by sunrise." The prophet had walked off to the direction of an enormous cliff before Ishaku could remark. With the aid of his winged hat, he jumped the height of the cliff easily. Always competitive, Waka glanced Sora a look that dared him to surpass Waka's jump. Sora dared and with his ability to glide, flew over them beside an old, ruined tower. His friends followed, but not as gracefully.

"I swear, you two are as bad as Amaterasu and Waka when they fight each other." Ishaku shook his head but couldn't help grinning, as there was something to finally laugh about in these dark times. The group looked up at the old tower covered in ivy that had a thin rod sticking out of it that looked ready to snap at any minute. "What the hell is this?"

"This is our way to the ark." Waka put his hands on his hips and looked triumphant. The poncle thought the prophet had really gone more mad than he was before. "Do not look like that, my friend. Ma cherie and I have found this ancient contraption on our many travels." He turned to Sora and his friends. "Can any of you summon lightning from the sky?" Donald eagerly steeped up and pointed his multicolored wand to the sky and shouted 'Thundaga'. The lightning bolt streaked from the heavens and struck the rod, causing the tower's walls to move. A secret passage was revealed after the walls had shifted. The group silently proceeded into the dark, damp tunnel.

It had been an hour or two, Sora wasn't sure, since they had left the entrance of the tunnel. All they had for light in the tunnel was Waka's green celestial blade which gave the tunnel a more eerie presence. They were huddled so close, thanks to the confines of the rocky tunnel, that he was pushed right up against Goofy's shield. He thanked the heavens when he finally saw the light of the exit and to be rid of the humid heat suffocating him and the horrible cramp in his side. He was so eager for fresh air that he ran out of the tunnel and was met by a chilly surprise. He had ran right into the blizzard ravaging the North. The air was so fast and icy that it had knocked the breath right out of him. He backtracked into the tunnel, grateful for it's warmth.

"That's one bad blizzard. I can't even see Ezofuji." Ishaku remarked as he looked out into the white North. Indeed, it was bad; the snowy wind was so thick and fierce that the great tress that dotted the North were nothing more than gray blobs on the horizon.

"We cannot give up after coming so far. Now, let us bid this tunnel adieu, and continue." Waka said pointedly and walked into the blizzard, lost to the howling wind. The others followed close behind.

Even with the enchanted clothes the fairies had made for him, Sora still felt the icy cold pummel his body as he waded through knee-deep snow. Fighting organization members looked like a vacation to the storm he was enduring now. Conversation was at a stand-still because whenever anyone talked the wind overtook their voices. Just as Sora was sure his legs were icicles, a figure was approaching them from the white haze. It was no demon; the cold had destroyed all the scrolls. No, it was a wolf shaped figure.

For a split second he had thought Amaterasu had come to them and save them from the blizzard that swirled about them. But realization soon hit when he saw the shimmering black fur of the beast and it's crimson eyes glinting at them. Waka stopped and made no inclination to draw his blade but allowed the wolf to approach them. His blue tipped fur and fox shaped mask glinted with snow as it warily sniffed each traveler. It snorted, seemingly at ease with them and ushered them forward to follow him. Sora had to nearly run to keep the wolf within sight and grabbed onto his friends so he would not lose them in the wicked wind. Waka leaped with the wolf and matched it's speed, shouting something to it that Sora could not hear over the storm. Finally, a hut came into view.

Sora and his friends each sneezed as they were handed steaming cups of broth from a dark-haired woman. They were sitting cross-legged on hand-woven mats and were looking at the quaint hut. Antlers and various animals stared down at them from a fire-place, and animal skins were hung here and there. The wolf joined the dark-haired, slender women who's face was also concealed by a mask, one in the form of a great stag. Waka, with Ishaku curled in the warmth of his bird-hat, was absently picking at his cup of broth and was more interested in the many swords and blacksmith materials laying about the house.

"Wawku, my friend, you've been busy with making a sword. But I have thought you've given up the art of blacksmith?" He pondered out loud and was examining the hilt of an unfinished sword. The wolf, Wawku, shimmered a bit before transforming into it's human form. If Sora had ever known Oki he would've guessed that Wawku was his ancestor or maybe a great-grandfather. He was built like Oki, muscular, but was more brutish in his strides and had a much more rougher voice. His hair was longer and unkempt, and his clothes were plain. There was no doubt, Sora thought as he saw Wawku's many gashes on his arms, that this man had a hard life.

"As I have told you, Waka, I am not making swords anymore. I'm only selling this equipment to the merchant." He crossed his arms, decision made. His wife sighed as she tended to the stew.

"You know a merchant will never come in this blizzard and I also know that you have saw the demons that are creating this blizzard." The prophet's eyes glinted in the flickering of the fireplace.

"You know not to make predictions when they are not wanted, Tao Master." Wawku said gruffly, his black, blue tinted hair shifting as he turned to face away from them. Waka sipped his broth, a faint smile gracing his lips.

"Why don't you make swords?" Sora asked quietly. He heard the blacksmith sigh in his mask and watched as he sat himself on a makeshift stool.

"It's a long story." Wawku began.

AN: This one's even shorter than the last one:( Oh well, I tried. Please R and R.


	4. End of the Celestial Plain 1

"It had happen a couple of nights ago, on a rare clear day. I had been scouting the cliffs of Ezofuji for blacksmith materials. It had been terribly misty but I thought nothing of it and I soon found myself lost on that wicked mountain." He took a time to pause and sip his broth while the wind subsided outside the snug hut. "I had been hearing things following me, naturally I thought them to be demons and took out my sword. Oh, how I wish it would've been mischievous demons than what I saw before me!"

"They were great owls made out of steel like a sword with whirring contraptions. I have never seen something look so dead and alive at the same time, if only you saw you would have understand me. I challenged them. Foolish, yes, but I would let no demons like that allow themselves into Wep'keer. I fought them as well as a warrior could, and they were no match for my steel but then something terrible happened when I was about to land my final blow on the fiends. They used some sort of black magic, I do not know what it was, but it was as if I was frozen on the ground I stood. Then, instead of taking my life, it punished me. For my foolishness it took my blade and thrusted it on the peak of Ezofuji to curse the land with a horrible blizzard and to curse the blacksmith itself. If I were to ever make another blade, the land would be cursed further until it was a wasteland devoid of all life." There was a silence after Wawku's tale, even the wind stopped it's howling for a moment as if intrigued by the blacksmith's struggle.

"Then getting to the ark without a fight will be out of the question, qui?" Waka said, his accented voice piercing the thick air of melancholy in the hut. Wawku nodded and turned to peer out the door of the hut to the cold outside world. The wind had died, leaving only the soft twirling of snowflakes in the dark night. It betrayed a sense of peace that nobody felt.

"Do not underestimate your enemy, Tao Master. I barely got away with my life and had my wife not gotten to me in time, bless her, I would not even have that. You have a dangerous habit of being too confident in your celestial blade, which I doubt would pierce that foul creature's skin." Waka took his friend's words in consideration and was deep in contemplation for a plan to rescue his companion from the prison of stars which she was now bound to.

"Hold on." Sora said as he was hurriedly digging through his pack. He grasped the object he was looking for stowed messily under a collection of Ansem's reports. "Only a blade that you can make can slice the owls, right?"

"Yes, I believe so." Wawku answered, his mask hiding the quizzical expression he wore. Sora shouted triumphantly as he was able to pry the object, unbelievably, from the black hole that was his traveling pack. He held the dagger of the imp that had tried to kill him; it glinted red like it was forever in twilight. After Ishaku had thoroughly searched the blade for value and ,when he considered it junk, gave it to Sora as a keepsake. Not much of a keepsake, it was a dagger that was suppoused to kill him, but he was glad that Ishaku considered him enough of a friend to give him the dagger.

"This dagger is demon-made but someone of your ability could reforge it to make a blade." Sora stated and held out the blade to the astonished warrior. He examined it, exceedingly tedious to an anxious group, and nodded.

"I think it could work." The blacksmith said as he walked to the fireplace ready to forge. "It will take a few hours, until dawn. I recommend trying to rest because we have a long day ahead of us, my friends." The weary group agreed and followed Wawku's wife, who had been watching from her steaming stew. She led them to a back room concealed in a corner that was reserved fpr the occasional traveler that passed by. Woven mats with blankets and pillows were lined on the floor and their was luckily enough for them all, not counting the tiny Ishaku. Wooden chairs were placed by a smaller, makeshift fireplace and a small dining table was placed between them. The guest's room's walls were lined with maps and exotic skins that were generously given to Wawku by grateful travelers. When Sora entered, he immediately felt the need for sleep overcome him.

"I shall bring supper for you all." The wife said softly, bowing, and turned to face Sora. "Thank you, kind warrior, for giving back my husband's will to create swords. It is his gift." Sora scratched the back of his head bashfully. She disappeared behind the curtain parting for the door and went off to happily cook for her full house. Sora dragged his tired body to a mat and marveled at how soft and warm they really were. His friends had already fallen asleep before their heads had even hit their pillows. He watched as the restless Ishaku worked on his guide of Nippon and as he layed out all the scrolls to marvel at his accomplishment. Sora, curiosity piqued, sat up to glance at the scrolls. He soon was absorbed at the beauty of Nippon depicted on the scrolls and, especially, at the brilliant white wolf that graced many of Ishaku's finest paintings. She was no beast when Ishaku painted her; she was as graceful as the wind and as bright as the red sun. He skimmed some more of Ishaku's scrolls and the little artist had even let him keep a spare map of Nippon.

One scroll grabbed his attention: Waka of the Moon Tribe. It was a much smaller scroll bound in red yarn. Sora was about to reach for it when Waka's agile hands snatched it.

"Hey, prophet, it took me six jugs of Nami's finest brew to get that information out of you and you're not going to let anyone see it?" Ishaku protested. Waka stowed the scroll in his travel pack, and was careful to lock it from curious lookers. "Fine. Be that way. If you keep beating yourself up about those _things _then you're never going to win your _goddess's _heart." Sora did not get Ishaku's hints but a surely annoyed Waka did, and almost squished the poncle under his stiletto high sandals.

Ishaku, satisfied with thouroughly angering the prophet, cleaned up his scrolls and curled himself on Sora's mat with the slumbering keyblade master. He fell fast asleep as an alert Waka peered out the frost tinted wind, his mind racing too fast for him even to think of sleep.

Ishaku's hints had brought him back to a three years ago when he was a public official instead of the outlaw he was now, to when he was lounging at Nami's bar. She had opened early for him out of respect for his position and was eagerly thanking him for ridding the village of the 'white beast'. The said beast was peering down from her home on the cliifs of the waterfall, keeping a protective eye on her lunar friend and playing with the woodland animals. Waka had to supress a smile when Amaterasu was ganged up on by a pack of young rabbits.

"Hey, Nami. You're number one customer is here!" A tiny voice rang from the ground below. Nami looked all around her until the little orange ball of light hopped itself onto her bar. She was so surprised that she dropped the ingredient's she hurriedly stowing in her cupboard.

"Oh, Ishaku, how lovely." A flustered Nami greeted as she tried to get her bearings straight. She pulled a couple of sake bottles and almost threw them to the bar at her patrons. Waka's reflexes saved the bottles from shattering on the ground below them.

"What's the rush?" Ishaku asked Nami as he inspected the bottles Waka held up for him. Nami had, unknowingly, given the two her strongest sake in store but the prophet, who did not drink, didn't know it. But Ishaku did and a small plan was formulating in his head.

"The festival is coming and I think I finally have a recipe that shall be so strong it will vanquish Orochi himself! I have heard rumours of a holy lake in Agata forest and if I hurry I can get enough for a large batch before midnight." She said triumphantly and nearly tripped over her vast stores of brewery. Nami hurried out the door, almost forgetting her bar. "Master Waka you can just close up when you are done." She called to the stunned Tao Master as she ran off to the village gates.

"Good luck!" Ishaku yelled, and looked at Waka who was sliding of his seat. "She's crazy. Thinking that sake can honestly defeat Orochi..."

"If you want, my little friend, you can have my share. I don't want Amaterasu to get too lonely." Waka said suddenly as he turned to waterfall that was shining in the midday sun.

"Hey, why don't you wait a moment. Amaterasu is having a good time feeding those animals so why don't we relax and have some sake? It's free." Ishaku persuasion worked and he sat back down. He looked back up to the white wolf who was playfully snapping at sparrows. She would be all right, he thought. He poured himself a healthy portion of Nami's sparkling brew and took a swig.

Not only was the sake strong but Waka could easily get drunk, which was all in Ishaku's favor. After two bottles, the tipsy prophet was spilling all his secrets: from his exile from the moon tribe to how Amaterasu was cursed. Ishaku was very intrested about the moon tribe and wrote the information down, but stopped when he heard him change the subject to Amaterasu.

"I-hic-only saw her once-hic-as a human, when Orochi attacked the celestial-hic-plain." He drunkenly slurred between swigs of Nami's quickly depleting jug of sake. He went on to say, nearly passing out several times, that he fought Orochi to protect the people that took him in when he left the moon tribe for good. He was very sure that he would not win agaisnt the hellish beast as big as a mountain; he was only giving the Celestials more time to flee with the lesser gods to the stars where they would be safe. Orochi, sure that that Waka's strength was gone, offered him a proposition. He did not want to take the life of someone with so much potential for the Dark Lord.

"Dearest Moon Warrior, we are from the same land of the beautiful, desolate Moon. Should we not be fighting together? With your sword and ability to foresee, the ones banished to the moon shall take their vengeance on the worshipers of the wicked Sun." Orochi boomed from the blood red sky; it's voice almost did not carry over the roar of destruction eating the land around Waka and his foe.

"I'm a messenger of the gods, part of a lunar tribe that does not obey demons." Waka said defiantly, standing his ground agaisnt the raging Orochi and felt the rage of his fire singe his skin. Orochi's rage soon turned to that of sure confidence that was even worse than it's bellows of rage and blood lust.

"You are part of a lunar lribe that does not exist. The Dark Lord has wiped them from existence!" The eight-headed serpent shook with laughter as he saw Waka's crestfallen face, the face of someone with no home to go back to. "Warrior of the great Moon and dishonarable traitor, I shall heal your pain. You will be the first to die in my new tyranny. Let it be a comfort to you that you shall have an honorable death, worthy of a demon." Waka stood in white-face shock, numb and his body screaming with pain. Would this be how it would end for him? Far from a home that didn't exist anymore?

It was Waka's turn to laugh now, right in the face of oblivion. His laughter shook his body so hard that he had to kneel, nearly rolling on the ground in hysterics, half-sobbing and laughing. The lightning head of Orochi stared stupidly at the hysterical prophet, completly dumbfounded that it was laughing instead of pleading for mercy like most sane people. Waka composed himself, and his dignified French air was apparent despite his ripped clothing caked with blood.

"Excuse moi, but I have no intentions of dying. That is the great thing about foretelling the future, you just know when it ends. But, alas, you ugly brute, my path does not end with you." Waka wiped his face and continued facing the now distraught Orochi. Consumed by anger at being laughed and mocked by an inferior being, the enormous demon snapped blindly at the prophet but always just missed the pink clad warrior. It was Poison, getting a rare stroke of brillance, that was Waka's downfall. While the prophet was busy taunting and throwing French curses at Fire, it was busy throwing poison in the ember filled wind. Waka was too fast for the snapping heads but he was not quick enough to avoid the northward wind and was soon engulfed in the deadly poison.

Waka staggered back as his vision blurred and the poison took hold of his body. He fell to the charred ground, stiff and in the early stages of death. Yet, his French cursing did not stop. He was determined to keep talking, foretelling Orochi's doom, until he was at heaven's gate. He looked up with the last of strength to the sky where the red sun glew behind Orochi that ignored Waka and continued on it's way to destroy the heavens. But, wait, was not the sun behind him? Then what was that incredible light that lit the plain with a heavenly light?

Amaterasu looked down on her beloved Celestial Plain in anguish. They land which she had created herself, the people that she protected like a mother, and the plants that she had painted herself were gone. She came to her ground in a streak of divine light, in front of the creature that dared trespass on her holy land. The brightness and beauty of the goddesses caused Orochi, for a moment, to seize it's terrible campaign.

Waka looked up from the ground to the white beauty that stood between him and the silent Orochi. There was no hint of the wolf she would become on her body; she had heavenly floor length silver-white hair given to her by winter and pearly skin that looked as of it was dipped in starlight draped in a lacy kimono that was made from the white frothy clouds of summer. She turned her head to gaze at the near-death prophet with her red eyes that were the drops of the sun. Everything about her was constructed naturally from the world that laid below the celestial realm. She kneeled to him and cocked her head, as if she were curious about the being before her, and waited for him to get up. He wasn't. She was a bit upset that he was sleeping at a time like this. The nerve!

Amaterasu jumped on his stomach to get his attention. He grunted in pain as Amaterasu kicked at his face with her bear feet which were, unfortunately, not blessed by any flowers. To be dying of suffocation under an oblivious to danger goddess, Waka now wished he had let Orochi eat him and be done with this ordeal.

"I...can't...move." He hissed to the ethreal being pouncing on and off his stomach. She cocked her head again as if to say, 'Why didn't you say so?' She jumped off the prophet and sat cross-legged before Orochi. She did some quick and intricate hand-signs to the shocked into silence serpent.

"Leave your land and heal the warrior? You are not in the position to bargain, Amaterasu." Orochi growled to the mute goddess. She sighed threw the limp prophet over her shoulder, a primitive joy of fighting curling her lips.

For the first time in his eternal life, Waka prayed


	5. EOCP 2, Battle of the Owls

Amaterasu relied all of her attacks on her celestial brush and tried whatever divine brush strokes she could on the beast before her. She realized, after using most of her ink, that her brushwork could not affect Orochi and that her time was running short with the man she had thrown over her back. She leaped up some ruin stones that had once been a great palace to get out of reach of Orochi's attacks for a moment. Crouching, she scanned for any weaknesses that she could use as an advantage. She placed the injured warrior safely beside her to relieve the strain on her back.

"The bell..." Waka coughed to the desperate Amaterasu. There it was, a broken bell that was the remains of a church dangled on the back of Orochi. It was a special moon tribe bell that kept great spirits in the realm of the dead but how it was broken remained a mystery for Amaterasu. A plan came to the goddess at that instant.

Amaterasu scooped the prophet once more over her back and jumped back down the ruins into Orochi's path. Using the last of her ink, she repaired the bell. She skilfully leapt and clinged on the Fire head of Orochi. Then, with a powerful heave, she threw the moon warrior to the bell his ancestors created ages ago.

Waka understood her intentions completly. While she distracted Orochi, he would ring the bell eight times for the eight demonic heads of Orochi. He used whatever strength he had left in his moon blood given to him by his warrior ancestors long since past to pull himself up. He drew his bloody katana from his sheath and, with a vicious curse to Orochi, slammed it on the bell.

The effects were immeadiate. Amaterasu, who was busy making rude gestures to Orochi, had to cling to the wildly swaying head she was on. The bell rung again, and it's power was so great that she could fell the air around her vibrate while her ears rang. Each time the bell rung, getting stronger with each of Waka's blows, Orochi was being bound to the ground by invisible holy chains. Then came the eighth ring of the great bell.

Unleashing all he had and binding his shattered past to his blade, he hit the bell with such an impact that his own katana splintered into several fragile pieces. Orochi fell at the last ring of the bell and was temporarily stunned. Amaterasu jumped off of Orochi's head just in time to reach the bell before it's head crashed onto the burnt land. She didn't notice cracks under Orochi that were giving away to the mortal world under them.

Amaterasu sat down on the small plot of land in the middle of Orochi and took out her purse. To deal the final blow, she would have to strike down the demon physically. She dug through her purse for any weapons; what she pulled out was a jade encrusted mirror and holy rosary given to her by her father. She looked around again for a final item and found it: the broken blade of the Moon warrior. The goddess spared a quick glance to the man slumping against the wall. There was not much time left.

Waka watched with keen intrest as Amaterasu piled together the odd assortment of items. Dipping her brush into the last of her ink, she put a secret charm, now lost forever, on the items to make them weapons powerful enough for a goddess. From her jade mirror, she created a flaming reflector that spouted iridescent fire; from her rosary, she created a beautiful whip that matched her ruby eyes, and from the remains of Waka's katana, she created the original Tskuyomi.

Amaterasu, satisfied with the forging of her holy artifacts, put away her reflector and rosary and held the sparkling Tskuyomi before her.

Orochi panicked; even though the barrier prevented any blade but the blade of a mortal hero to pierce him, he still doubted it's strength agaisnt the Sun's mighty power. In the belly of the beast laid the heart of a true coward who would sell his own race of demons for his safety. He was the disgrace of Yami for his cowardice.

Yet, he still had one last evil trick that would secure his tyranny over the collapsing celestial plain and that was the weak warrior. What if the Dark Lord sees him scar and cripple Amaterasu forevermore? He would be the greatest of all the demons and he would make Ninetails and Blight pay dearly for mocking him.

"O, divine Amaterasu, you have bested me with your god like wit and strength! I shall save you the trouble of killing me and I'll just wither away. But, at least I'll have a consolation; that Moon warrior will accompany me to my demise in Hell." Orochi gave the paling goddess a toothy grin.

"Don't worry, ma cherie," Waka whispered and was surprised to see that the goddess did not oppose the pet name he gave her; in fact, she seemed to like it. "I have my share of regrettable acts and I deserve fair retribution. If I'm destined to fight Orochi for an eternity in the pits of Hell, then I only have one thing to say, 'Magnifique! I'll have something to do.'." Waka gave a laugh to try to ease the pain going on in Amaterasu's heart.

"Dear Sun goddess, there is one way to save him from judgment in the afterlife." Orochi hissed to a now interested Amaterasu. He mentally laughed; the sun goddess had one big weakness, her love for every creature. How easily it could be exploited! "I could lift the poison that is crippling him. For a price, of course."

Amaterasu's descision still haunted Waka. If she had struck Orochi at the prime of her power would more lives have been saved? But Amaterasu did not think in terms of how many lives could be saved at the expense of one, she tried to save each life she could. Many would think her nature to be naive, maybe even foolish, but that is what makes her a goddess and not a demon. That thin line of conscience that separates light and dark, keyblade master and Organization member.

She gave her answer in sign language, 'What is your price?'

"Just a trinket, nothing important to someone of your status. Just your beauty." Orochi sniffed, still struggling against the chains bounding him. Waka shook his head and tried to desperately tell her to think of her own safety but could not find his voice in his slowly dying body. Besides, even if Waka could shout and yell, it would not have changed Amaterasu's mind. She wasn't called hard-headed Ammy for nothing.

'I accept.' She made one hand motion and bowed to Orochi, ready for their bargain. The demon gave a roar and summoned dark, twisted flames to mutilate the goddess. The black flames surrounded the goddess and locked her heart so that no mortal could ever see her for what she truly was. The flames flickered away to leave a large, shimmering wolf in their wake. White tendrils flew out the body of the wolf as it howled to the heavens, no longer the beauty of Izanagi but the beast of the sun.

Orochi laughed, swinging it's heads as best it could in triumph. How could any mortal have faith in that?

"Our bargain is done, wolf. May every human that looks at you scream in horror!" The serpent demon, reluctantly, kept it's bargain; Poison took back it's curse with a sigh.

Waka coughed, and felt his vigor return to him. His vision repaired, he looked at Amaterasu with a gasp. She still had her beauty, at least to him, but it was now more subtle and natural. The goddess herself didn't seem to be to distraught over her loss. Actually, she seemed quite curious at her new body and was looking behind her, with her trademark goofy expression, at the ink dipped tail swishing behind her. Her curiousty was short lived, however, as the ground below them gave way.

The prophet's fast reflexes allowed him to make the jump over the gap to the celestial plain but Amaterasu was not as fast. She was trapped in the enraged tangle of Orochi's heads and she looked to Waka with a gaze that was somehow plain to him, 'Save as many as you can.' He felt a vision stir within him, and he tried as best he could to shout the prophecy over Orochi's roars.

"A hero with the name of the great god Izanagi, shall have the blade that will pierce Orochi! Au revoir, Amaterasu!" The wolf gave a final, courageous howl as she fell with Orochi to the unknowing mortal world below them.

Sora awoken from his nightmare in a cold sweat. He had dreamed he was on a doomed Ark that was racing down from the heavens above; he swore he saw the bright flash of Amaterasu fall with him. The rest of the dream was vague though, an assortment of images from Destiny Islands, to lands of Nippon he never saw, and a strange twilight town. He deemed that his nightmare was from the lack of food as he saw their uneaten supper. Nightmare forgotten, his usual chipper morning attitude kicked in. He looked to Waka who was unblinkingly staring out at the pale dawn in the small slit of a window.

"Good morning." Sora yawned cheerrfully as he got up to pack for the day. The prophet started as if he was just pulled back from a long dream.

"Excuse moi, I was miles away!" He got up and looked down to the dull orange glow beneath the mat. Waka cupped his hands around his mouth. "Good morning, Ishaku!" He shouted as loud as he could. The orange light, startled, bounced to the roof.

"I was getting up!" Ishaku yelled to the smirking prophet as he drifted back down to Sora's shoulder. "I swear, Amaterasu picks the most deranged friends." Ishaku fumed for a bit but was too sidetracked by the sweet smell of tarts in the next room. Wawku's wife ran into the room, nearly tripping over Donald and Goofy who were roused by Ishaku and Waka's commotion, and was holding out a plate of trays.

"I heard yelling. Is everyone all right?" She said as she put down the trays of treats and picked up the uneaten supper.

"Yeah, the crazy prophet was being obnoxious, again." The little poncle jumped down to grab a bite of the sweet smelling pastries.

"Have you visited your village yet, Ishaku? I heard there was a nasty attack on a couple of Poncles by some demons. Your father is too sickly to care for them so he had someone request you go home as soon as you can."

"All right. I shouldn't be long enough to miss any of the action." Ishaku bounced out a crack in the hut and was lost to view. The group, dwindled down to three, ate a quick breakfast while they waited for the outcome of Wawku's forging. They didn't have to wait long. Right as Sora was about to stuff himself with the appetizing cherry pies, a clearly proud blacksmith walked in with his creation.

It was a magnificent sword: long and gleaming, with no signs of the demon knife it was in it's past life. Instead of it's ominous red tints, it was surrounded by a warm blue aura that pushed all of the chill out of the room.

"Tres bien, Wawku. A sword fit for a hero if I do say so myself." The prophet overlooked the sword with a thoughtful glint in his eye.

"Those demons will rue the day they claimed Ezofuji as their home." The blacksmith twirled the sword a bit for Sora's amusement before sheathing it on his hip.

"You will all be careful, right?" His wife softly whispered as she gave Sora and his friends a motherly hug. She clasped Waka's hands and asked him to keep an eye on them, as he was the wisest and oldest.

"Oldest?" Sora remarked to Donald who was busily examining his wand, "He only looks a couple of years older than Riku." The familiar pang of loss rang in his heart when he uttered his friend's name.

"Young warrior, in Nippon age is not measured by years but how many notches of your sword has been broken by demon scale." Wawku said as after he gave his wife a kiss on the cheek. "He's far older than any warrior would hope to be."

"So, just because I'm young I'm not as good a warrior?" He said with a twinge of sting as he remembered being lectured by a certain half-goat on how to be a hero.

"Being old isn't always a good thing, Sora. You have too much time to regret." The prophet said with a rare kindness before he pushed open the door to a still and chilly morning. The winged tao master stepped out the door to the silvery world with a pondering Sora closed behind. The others followed after, waving goodbye to the silent housewife, and were soon lost to view in the white world.

The land was softly glowing in the dawning sun that was rising from the silver mist that encased all of the North in a halo shape. It was as if they were in the eye of a terrible hurricane; the land was quiet as the inhabitants locked their doors or sailed off to never return to the solemn land. Bare tress, shaking in the slight icy wind, climbed to the clear blue sky that was tinted in winter and frozen waters, rivers and waterfalls, stood out like jagged, frozen statues that had never seen a summer. Sora had never seen such a haunting and beautiful world that passed him by as he walked on the paths caked with powdery snow. Soon, the land led to a hazardous incline and the amount of wispy mist increased.

He grabbed onto Goofy's and Donald's arm as they proceeded up the craggy wall of rock. He didn't dare use agile jumps when he felt the unstable rock slide beneath him. He looked up to Waka who was nearly fluttering, with the aid of his enchanted hat, by Wawku who was expertly traversing the cliff before them. Even with the group's limber and physical attributes, climbing the cliff proved tedious and tiring. They were half way up when Sora noticed the wall of mist separate the trio from Waka and Wawku and left them stranded on the pointed slope. He turned to look behind him and saw the mist pulled away to a titanic owl shaped shadow.

Sudden fear and the anxiety of his precarious position on the rocks seized his heart for a brief second as he saw the shadow approach them. A second later, his gut instinct overtook his mind and he used abandoned all his magic stored for a burst of glide. He had hoped to store as much power he could contain for their ambush but the mist, working for the insidious demons, had spied them the moment it caught notice of the amount of divine light spilling from the boy's heart and gave them away. The owl closed in on the rising trio like a hawk to a freshly wounded dove.

Waka, his sensitive ears not picking up the sound of rock beneath Sora's feet, looked down below him and swore. The mist had hidden and muffled the trio's terrifying trials from the two above. He had not thought the mist to be a craft for the demons but it all came together when he remembered Wawku's tale of the fog. A trap he had so blindly been led into! He jump down and let go of all caution. He thanked the heavens that Amaterasu had not seen him commit what could be another fatal error.

The keyblade master still kept to his incline but worried when he did not see the top of the cliff. He was trapped within a horrid barrier that kept him locked on a cliff that would never end against a crafty demon hungry for Sora's blessed heart. His friends propelled him onward though, despite the hopeless scenario playing out before them. Finally, he wavered as his magic and strength were spent he pressed himself and his friends onto the unforgiving rock that bit and scratched at every inch of skin.

The gray, mechanical owl named Nechku gave a hoot of victory to his brown brother that was circling, looking for Wawku and Waka that had hidden in the many crevices of the cliff. The gray owl, with a light seeking spectacle perched on it's razor beaks, targeted the keyblade master struggling with his floundering companions on the wall. It raised it's talons, ready to reap it's rewards from Yami when he presented the boy to it.

Sora, in his now calm and calculating battle mode, glanced back at the wildly cawing owl diving towards them. He waited calmly despite his frantic friends and watched the talons as if they were in slow motion..., there!, he twisted his body back from the impending talons and bodily threw his companions safely on a jutting rock beside them. Yet, even though the move saved his friends, it left him in a vulnerable position. He knew that Donald's and Goofy's magic spells would not be fast enough to stop the next attack of raking talons. He steeled himself for the blow.

The green flash of Pilllowtalk ruptured the mist and into the spectacled eye of the owl that was a breadth away from tearing into the battle-faced keyblade master. Sora, taking the surprise ambush from the hovering tao master as an advantage, stomped his foot into the wailing creature. Using it as a foothold, he leapt from Nechku into the safety of his friends arms. The utterance of both Donald's and what was Goofy's limited magical ability merged into a lethal limit attack that propelled the demon into the jutting rocks. It laid limped over the rock, it's only eye staring at it's brother that was losing a battle against the feral hound of Wawku. Waka unceremoniously pulled his sword from the beast and, too, looked at Wawku that was cornered with his back up along the shallow crevice he defended himself in.

"We must hurry. Even the sword Kutone cannot bar it's master from wound forever." Waka concluded, wiping his precious flute from the grime of demon. Sora nodded and before he and his friends went to glide after the hovering prophet, he looked at the miserable demon below him with a twinge of pity. The four took Lechku from behind with a fury of sword swipes and a magical bombardment of spells. The brown bird cried in retreat, shaking off the furiously stabbing Wawku and called it's lame brother to join it. Miraculously, Nechku obliged the command, not wanting to further dishonor it's brother. The two made for the twisted and smoky peak of Ezofuji with the band of warriors following in pursuit and the Kutone, now dreaded by all dark beasts was a sparkling blue. The mist had completely disappeared, as if, too, disgraced by the domination of the smaller beings.

Author's Notes: That's it for now. Sorry for the long wait! I also activated anonymous reviews, thanks to Miah The Storm Wolf for telling me. I haven't even noticed! Anyway, thanks for your support and reviews.


	6. The World Of Stars

Author's Notes: Sorry for the long wait but I made it somewhat longer... :)

The two owl demons still were not fast or high enough to stop Sora and Wawku jumping upon their backs and clinging to their feather. Furious, the birds called upon a blizzard to try to shake off the battle hyped warriors. The icy wind howled around them, pummeling their bodies against the feathers. Waka, Goofy, and Donald were lost in the twirling white world as the demons tried complicated flight maneuvers to shake them off. Sora even lost sight of Wawku but he knew he was still gripping Lechku by the sound of the distressed bird's calls. The air pockets within the fur gave Sora enough air to keep from losing consciousness as Nechku went into a sudden ascent. The two demons gave up hope of trying to shake off the tiny beings nestled in their fur and instead, decided to take them to the peak of Ezofuji. If the altitude and blizzard did not kill them, then they would surely try.

Wawku, used to climbing Ezofuji, had no problem combating the air deprivation or the cold but he was worried about the young keyblade master. He caught glimpses of him in the blizzard driven wind, his body entangled within feathers but his still had the fighting spark. He would've laughed if the situation had let him. The boy reminded him of Waka, there was a lot more about him than his looks gave. He would fight, even if their was no hope, till the end. How many times had he and his white, ethereal wolf companion would fight demons marching from the depths of Laochi lake for days on end as if he were obligated. Perhaps they were.

Wawku was snapped out of musings by the sound of rock scraping against smooth rock. The blizzard parted and circled the two owls like the eye of a storm. Simultaneously, Sora and he leapt from the backs of the owl and onto what appeared to be a makeshift arena. A trap.

Sora gazed around him for a brief moment, looking at the curtain of blizzard that circled like a halo around a rocky and forgotten battle arena. He knew that they were at the peak of the mountain from the bitter cold wisping through his enchanted clothing. There was moment of showdown as the owl perched onto a branch of a large dead tree. Hanging from the branch was a frozen clock with an eerie look about it. Sora drew Oathkeeper and Wawku unsheathed his loyal kutone. Nechku was the first to strike.

The owls threw all precaution to the wind and exposed all the demonic power they could conjure. Sora spent the first grueling minutes of battle memorizing the demons' pattern. As he evaded, he realized that they were bound to a very strict pattern of battle. He also realised that they could not win this battle on strength; their blades strength, even Kutone's, were not enough to pierce the metal shields without the help of magic. Their greatest advantage was the bird's attacks themselves. All of their attacks could be sent right back at them.

Battle raged for a good fifteen minutes, and the two warriors had only done so much damage. Sora, tired and worn, could not block Nechku's talons and Wawku was deep in thrashing the face of Lechku with his claws and sword. He felt the deep pain of a talon rip into his back before he countered with an impressive spinning move. He took out a potion, and carelessly dumped it upon his back since he did not have the luxury of drinking it. He felt the warmth of the potion stiching his wound and the blood dry on his back. His enchanted clothes were softly humming as they repaired themselves.

Wawku leapt back from Lechku the moment he heared talons rip into Sora's back. They would not last much longer, and with the blizzard surrounding them like a cage, he doubted their friends would come in time to aid them. He, still in wolf form, bounded to Sora with his tongue lolling in exhaustion.

The owls, too, were worn and were on the verge of death, but their mechanical features could not express their fear. The brothers looked at each other in finality. They had decided to use one last desperate trick. One that not even the greatest warriors of the Oina tribe ever succeeded of getting out alive.

Lechku raised a staff that was hidden among the rubble. It was a dark wooden oak staff as big as a tree trunk with a razor point edge. Before the two could even act, it slammed the gnarled and twisted staff onto the ground. The frozen clock that was hanging lifelessly from the withered tree ticked into life. It was ticking backwards.

Sora felt all time stop around him and constrict his body. He couldn't breathe...he could hardly think. Lechku was slowly appraching them in a slow, deliberate manner, thumping the cane to the ground each time it hopped closer. He knew they were under an extremely powerful Stopga but he couldn't command even a simple haste from his blade. He could not feel the pulse of the light from the blade and it felt numb in his hands. It felt like a race against a nonexsistent time, a race from the ticking of both the clock and Lechku's deadly staff.

Lechku raised it's staff toward Sora, deadly point straight above his slightly heaving chest.

Kutone was pulsing with blue aura and it's glow had become so bright that it startled Lechku. For all this time, it kept it's true nature hidden even in the most desperate struggle of battle. It's own power was locked by a simple charm casted by the weilder who had reincarinated it from a lowly imp knife to a magnificent sword.

'To protect all that I hold dear, friends and family, and do nothing else.' Kutone glowed such a silver that it would've even put the heavenly sun to shame. The time barrier shattered like glass around them and the owls were left defenseless and open. Regardless of it's stunned brother and the world coming to life around it, Lechku brought down it's staff on Sora.

The black wood stood no chance agaisnt the newly revived Oathkeeper. The keyblade tore through the wood like paper and brough the keyblade right into the heart of the demon. Sora pulled back and let Wawku deal the final blow to the crippled demons.

The wolf leapt high into the air, Kutone flashing in the light blue sky, and brought the sword down right through the middle of the two demons. There was burst of dark mist swirling around the two lifeless owls while Wawku jumped to Sora's side. Finally, the mist subsided leaving nothing more in it's wake than two statues of wise owls and a small plain of white flowers. The blizzard died without the malice of the demons to give it life and the ruins glinted in a sense of peace that wouldn't be disturbed for a century to come.

Waka had manage to drag Sora's frantic companions into a snug crevice in the mountains before the blizzard could take them. They waited in the crevice, silently, for any hope that the storm would diminish. All of the sudden, it stopped right before their eyes. The screaming howl of wind quieted to a gentle breeze and the pounding hail turned into twirling snowflakes. The odd trio cautiously walked out of the snug crevice, fearing the worst for their lost companions. Then, they heard Sora call to them from the eastward peak of Ezofuji and triumphantly thrusting Oathkeeper into the air in a sign of victory. Donald and Goofy cheered raucously and Waka crossed his arms with the faintest of smirks gracing his lips. Waka led Sora's two eager friends up the side of the mountain with ease thanks to his beloved hat. The trio celebrated cheerfully and Donald healed the multiple bruises and cuts on the two joyous but exhausted warriors.

Wawku didn't have Sora seemingly endless supply of energy and sat on the ground to rest. He would definitely retire after this, and he spent the rest of his days rebuilding the shrine for his village that would one day be named after him for his heroic exploits. For now, he sat relaxed upon the stony ruins looking to the sky that seemed to be darkening.

"What in the gods' name?" He said, standing up to peer at the sky that was awash in glittering stars.

"Another demon?" Goofy asked to none in particular as he too gazed at the stars. He could make out the faint trace of a constellation among the sea of stars.

"No, it's Amaterasu." Waka whispered, more to himself than anything else. Once Lechku and Nechku's presence had been swept clean from Nippon, the celestial sky could finally shine down on the land without the presence of dark clouds. All the other brush gods, hidden as constellations, swirled in the sky above them around Amaterasu's own constellation. The starlight poured down like a curtain before them and beckoned them to come like a heavenly gate. Waka stepped forward with Sora in tow through the light.

Since Sora wasn't as ethreal as Ishaku or Waka, the trip through the limbo between life and death was quite disorienting. He was still semi-concious by the time the celestial world around him materialized. It reminded him of the World That Never Was, a sense of quiet emptiness lingered in the nonexistent wind. When his head finally stopped spinning, he saw a bright being laying very still a couple feet before them. It was very white with red, glowing markings...could it be? Waka had already knelt before the slumbering girl and shook her gently.

"Is she dead?" Sora said, his voice echoing his guilt. The goddess twitched for one minute, to a very relieved Waka and Sora, and then she kicked her foot so it connected squarely to Waka's jaw. Hard.

Amaterasu had done much thinking and watching when she was confined to her celestial prison. More thinking of the past, however, and strangely, much about her Moon Tribe friend, Waka. She had a dream of sailing the heavens on a grand ark, to worlds she had only read in the scrolls that cluttered in the celestial library. He was with her and they were above a beautifully restored Nippon with it's sakura tress reaching up to the ark as if trying to embrace the ship in it's floral branches. And there were holy bones. Many, many holy bones with a mountain of cherry cakes to boot. Her friend Ishaku was bouncing on her lupine head, looking forward to a bright adventure.

Then the dream disappeared like smoke in a mist when she felt a hand shake her gently.

She must've been napping again under Sakuya's tree again and Waka would have a delicious snack, preferably bones, for her like he always did on his visits back from the capital. Her hunger took over her body like she hadn't eaten in a week. It was actually a day but it was all the same to Amaterasu's bottomless hole of a stomach. Why hadn't Ishaku waken her up? Surely he would've noticed her hunger ravaged stomach bellowing stomach. He was probably off, trying to flirt with Nami. Oh, how she grew so fond of the perverted little scoundrel, she will never know. She raised what she thought was her paw to try and get herself up. She didn't realize the strength or dexterity her new human limbs would give her. Her foot collided something very hard and something that also had a good knowledge of swear words.

Amaterasu bolted up, angry both at her hunger and throbbing foot. She then looked at Waka who was clutching at his bleeding lip and then to Sora who was looking from Amaterasu to Waka in a bewildered sort of manner that he found himself more in the longer he stayed with this odd company. The boy walked over and cautiously helped her up onto her two wobbly feet. She could feel her muscles expanding and contracting to her new body and the loss of her wolfen limbs. Not much of her last body remained on her new body; only her pointed canines and her wild white hair that was long and in eternal disarray after a near century of countless battles was visible. She soon found her balance after a couple of awkward steps on the twilight world.

Waka wiped his bloody lip on the back of hand, his ego slightly bruised but all else was fine. He looked to Amaterasu who was now testing the agility and newfound limberness of her body by doing flips and sprints around the duo. Once done, she looked around for her little Celestial Envoy to tell her all the adventure she missed during her slumber.

"The little bug had some errands in his village." He said in his usual light tone. Amaterasu was a bit miffed at the bug comment but she had grown use to their quarrels after a century. She nodded, and wth a graceful leap, exited the world among the stars with her friends close behind.


	7. Reminiscing

Wawku looked impressively at the mysterious maiden that drifted from the starlight that descended from the heavens and then looked to Waka and Sora who walked serenely out from the gate to the stars. The sky cleared to bright high noon filled with the chorus of awakening animals.

Amaterasu shivered a bit from the chill without her fur to warm her pearly skin or the velvety pads of her paws to bar the cold from her bare feet. But her warm aura could not be pierced by even the most cold of Ezofuji's wrath.

"That's it," Wawku sighed as he watched Amaterasu give the group a motherly examination, "Celestials, and warriors with a blade shaped as a key and demonesque companions, I can handle, but pulling lovers out of starlight? You're too much for me, Waka, my friend." When the blacksmith had mentioned the word 'lovers', Sora was sure he could feel Waka's whiplash as he turned to the snickering Oina tribesman.

"Lovers? Absurd! Ma cherie and I are just good friends bound by consequence. Nothing more. Right, Amaterasu?" Waka retorted, looking to the goddess who was feeding the sparrows that had circled the group. The goddess gave an absent nod of the head while she dumped an entire bag of bird feed in Sora's hands. She gave a soft giggle that sounded a bit like a wolfish growl as they all perched on the laughing keyblade master. Wawku nodded his head sarcastically and started the treacherous descent down Ezofuji. Waka knew that what the Oina said was just in jest but he still could not shake off the feeling Wawku knew what he was talking about. Though the Oina was a bit brutish and stubbourn, he was much more inquisitive than Waka gave mortals credit for.

He had never thought of Amaterasu as more of a friend because of the blunt fact that she was a wolf and he thought that she woud remain one forevermore. Yet, he would gladly spend the rest of eternity walking by her, not for payment for saving his life, but simply because she had grown to be almost an extension of himself.

He couldn't think of how it would be like without her waiting for him by Sakuya's sapling, or even without her and Ishaku causing havoc for him to clean up. It didn't even seem likely that he had a life before the goddesses' companionship. He struggled to remember those dark days on the Moon but the memories were blocked by memories created by the wolf: lying on the grass on hot summer days, sneaking Amaterasu into his home for a quick visit to the celestial statues, or just playing when Ishaku wasn't looking. Though his mind vehemently denied the feeling growing in his chest, he couldn't ignore.

Amaterasu had become his heart. She had shattered the cold fundamentals that bound his heart with her undeniable warmth and happy-go-lucky personality. She had utterly destroyed the Moon warrior and built him again with a stronger material than he was before. Before Waka could deeper comprehend these feelings, Amaterasu had leapt off the mountain into the abyss dragging a terrified Sora and his friends off the cliff. It seems someone needed to save them from the savior.

Sora thanked the heavens for what seemed the hundredth when Amaterasu had landed them safely on a rock protruding from the mountain. Wawku was standing right before them overlooking the land and Sora felt a sigh of wind where Waka landed behind them. Once released from his death grip on Amaterasu's arm, he looked at the white tundra surrounding Ezofuji. It was as if he was looking at a picture that had once been in black and white but was restored to color. The white was as bright as the sky, a divine wind shook Sora's hair, the bare trees became lined with birds, and powdery snowflakes twirled happily down from the light blue sky. The land was in it's own celebration of the death of Lechku and Nechku and nature's praise was already warming the air around Sora.

"Who would like to accompany ma cherie and I to Ishaku's home?" Waka asked as he eyed the surroundings and the dark forest far to the East. Sora was the only one with enough vigor to go on so, with a bit of apprehension from his friends, joined the two ethreal beings. Though Donald and Goofy were wary to let Sora out of their sight, they trusted Waka's judgement and Amaterasu's strength. The group split and departed down the mountain. The fog which had proved so trecherous on the ascent parted and the tattered fringes left of it sailed northward to the Ark.

Sora was amazed at how much life the icy tundra kept hidden under it's white blanket: animals of all variety came from the once-dead land to see the procession of other-worldly beings march to Yoshpet. The trees grew thicker around them, pushing the travelers right to the menacing stony gate of Yoshpet. Sora hesitated a bit before realizing that the pathway dissolved before them revealing an archway of thorny trees leading to a dark, little used pathway. Sora was starting to regret his decision.

"Stop here." Waka whispered, holding out a hand to halt. They had just proceeded a little way on the weed infested path and the woods was startying to get so thick that the sunlight could no longer pierce through the canopy of branches.

"The pollen starts to fall from the canopy at this point." The prophet pointed to the thicket of barren branches above them. Sora could notice a slight purplish powder gently falling from the twigs. It looked beautiful the half light of the forest but like most beautiful things, it had an evil twinkle of malice.

"The forest will put all of it's might into preventing us from leaving it's grasp," When Waka had mentioned this, Sora thought, at first, this was absurd. He was speaking as if the forest was truly alive. Then he noticed the life of the forest for the first time; the branches pulsed like a heartbeat around him in the shifting wind, and the thorny thicket slid from the shadowy depths, trying to grasp at his ankles and drag him away forever. Now, Sora really regretted his decision. "We must be quick." He said, and disappeared down the pathway.

'Like I really like to take a tour,' Sora thought sarcastically before running after him.

They ran quickly, barely daring to touch the ground in their long, graceful strides. The forest had no chance of catching the three that slipped so agily through it's deadly branches. The group kept close with Amaterasu in the front. She guided them through the forests pathways that were etched into her memory by Ishaku and she whimsically thought of the Poncle hopping on her shoulder.

'Take a left, furball.' He would chide her on their many occasions to and fro from his home. He would drill her on every path, giving her no leeway. She found these practices annoying but soon became fond of these little practices. It felt as if she knew this path, memorized it well, that her other paths will become easier to follow.

'Don't space out, now! You've got a kid to look out for.' Amaterasu nodded to her non-existent friend and looked back at the boy who was following her dutifully. Here she was, leading a boy from another world who had slain yet freed her soul, to the land of Poncles. 'Dear Ishaku, I could memorize Yoshpet's paths and all of the paths in Nippon a thousand time and yet I find myself on a new one I've never seen!' Amaterasu gave a slight laugh before bouncing forward with more strength, leaving blossoming flowers in her wake.

The run through Yoshpet was, blessedly, short and uneventful. Except for a couple of narrow misses from some flying fruit by a couple of cursed trees, they had made it out unmarred and bit covered by pollen. They took a minute to sit in the green clearing in the heart of Yoshpet and rest. Sora looked around the clearing that was nestled in a circle of elms.

This clearing was the rarest thing the Keyblade master had ever and would ever see in his lifetime. It was a tiny land completely unaffected by time; a land that evaded seasons and mocked ages by staying evergreen and bright. A land in the constant state of noon that would never see a twilight. Sora was glad he came to this small clearing despite the trials of Yoshpet.

He had wondered this whole time while trapped on this world why he was needed. It was obvious that this world did not need him like the other worlds he visited. It was reverse for him; he needed this world. Somehow it gave him hope that for every dark land like Yoshpet, there was a clearing. For him, Destiny Island, his friends, was the clearing that he was fighting for. He remembered that little island and how he used to feel so confined by how lazily time seemed to move but now he longed for a world where change was slow, like this one.

"Is something the matter, Sora?" Waka asked, noticing the frown lines creasing Sora's usually chipper forehead. The keyblade maste sighed and fell back on the grassy land. It was incredibly warm and silky for grass.

"Sleepy." Sora smiled before closing his eyes. Waka shook his head. Why was it that everyone went to sleep when he talked?

"I know you'll listen to me Ama-" Waka turned to the goddess and stopped short. She had curled up pn the grass and fallen asleep a while ago. The prophet suppressed a chuckle as he looked at the two. The Moon Tribesman took of his winged lat, letting his golden hair heir fall to the ground. He laid on the soft, warm ground and looked to Amaterasu. She seemed so peaceful under the sunlight, perhaps just as beautiful as she was in the Celestial Plain before that dreaded curse. Even her wild hair seemed to soften and ripple in the green grass. In this tranquil, unmoving time that possed him, he felt the tug of his heart stir those confusing feelings within him. He turned away from Amaterasu. 'Some things are better left unsaid,' he thought before sleep plunged him in the dreamworld.

Author's Notes: A little on the short side but I did add some AmmyxWaka fluff. Even if it's a little one-sided, for now. Ah, fluff is fluff, right?


End file.
